


Darn Taps & Toothpaste

by TheSciFiBard



Category: Wynonna Earp - Fandom
Genre: EFA Fic Challenge 2019, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 00:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17632889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSciFiBard/pseuds/TheSciFiBard
Summary: Alone at the Homestead, Waverly and Nicole relax together and end up talking....





	Darn Taps & Toothpaste

The fire steadily crackling and pages slowly being turned were the only sounds to be heard inside the Homestead as the winter wind howled outside.

The two women sprawled out on the floor in front of the hearth paid them no mind as they read their own books in companionable silence

Eventually, Waverly dropped her copy of The Iliad onto her chest and slowly rolled her head to the left, staring up at her girlfriend.

“Your tummy makes a really nice pillow. Super comfy.” She leant an arm back, patting the soft warm surface by her head emphasising her point.

Warm brown eyes never flicked up from the worn copy of Little Women, but a small grin bloomed. “I’ll be sure and tell Nedley that at my next evaluation….”

Hazel eyes rolled, then the youngest Earp went back to her reading.

But it didn’t last long before she repeated her actions, lowering her book, only this time, she stopped herself from immediately talking, only letting out a little huff and quickly taking up the book again as if she’d second guessed herself. 

Those same brown eyes flicked up then, knowingly. 

“Something on your mind Waves?” 

She got an exasperated sigh for her troubles. “HOW do you know I was gonna ask anything? I could’ve just had a little excess air in my mouth.”

Nicole stifled a wry grin and went back to reading. “My mistake.”

She counted to 17 in her head before her girlfriend caved, muttered “fudgenuggets” and tried again.

“Nicole?”

“Hmm?”

“When did you know?”

Deciding her reading would have to wait, the redhead stuffed her bookmark back in to keep her place, tossed Little Women off to the side and slid an arm behind her head to prop her up more on the nest of cushions they’d built. Her other hand gently smoothed the bangs out of hazel eyes.

“When did I know WHAT, exactly? That your sister’s kinda sort of an asshat? That nobody in the damn Station knows how to work that stupid coffee pod machine but me? That Doc doesn’t know his ass…”

Her girlfriend’s voice cut in, soft, but somehow loud in the quiet of the room. “That you were in love with me.”

Fingers ceased carding through brunette hair. “Oh. That…”

“Yeah, that.” Waverly worried her bottom lip with her teeth and waited for an answer. 

Nicole didn’t actually have to think about her answer at all, but considered it polite to leave a little bit of a pause. Instead she ran her fingers through her own hair to make it look like she was contemplating what to say.

She gazed up at the ceiling, then realised she was making things far more complicated than they needed to be. “You won’t believe me.”

Waverly turtled her head back comically, “What? Why?”

Red hair shook gently side to side, “You just won’t is all.”

Turning over onto her side, the youngest Earp propped her head up with an arm slung over her girlfriend’s hip and broke into an infectious grin, “Try me!”

Red eyebrows raised once, brown eyes rolled then settled back on the woman she loved. “The darn taps”

“Wait, what?”

“The darn taps”

“Yeah, you said that already, but that doesn’t…”

But it was the redhead’s turn to cut her girlfriend off mid sentence. “That’s what you said. Or at least a part of what you said…”

And then Waverly remembered. The day they met. The beer tap had spurted all over her and she’d spluttered and complained that Shorty hadn’t fixed…

“the darn taps”

Nicole’s smile was gentle as she gave a nod. “The darn taps”

Both women grinned at each other, remembering.

Then Waverly cottoned on. “Wait, that was the…”

“First time we met. Yeah, I’m aware.”

The little furrow in Waverly’s brow was adorable as she lay there figuring it out. 

While she waited, Nicole swapped over arms behind her head and reached out with her left, picking up her girlfriend’s hand, weaving their fingers together. When she looked up she could see all the questions in her lover’s eyes, so she waited, patiently. 

She’d wait forever for Waverly. For as long as it takes.

Waverly, however, didn’t seem able to form words and eventually just lay there staring at her with her lips slightly parted, seemingly too stunned to speak.

Nicole shrugged. “I can’t explain it baby. I just can’t. You were wiping yourself down and I was standing there thinking, ‘wow, this girl is, like, super SUPER cute and adorable and I should totally ask her out’ and then you said “the darn taps” and I swear, my heart fairly lurched in my chest, like I’d been defibrillated or something. I’ve never felt anything like it. Made me wanna drop to my knees from the force of it. You had this adorable little grin on your face and you were all embarrassed and flustered and all I could think of was I wanted to scoop you up, sit you on the bar, stand between your thighs and never leave your side again.”

Moments went by where just the two of them breathed each other’s air.

Eventually Waverly shook her head in wonder and spoke slowly.

“Nicole Haught. You are absolutely the most amazing and wonderful person I have ever had the pleasure of denying a cappuccino to. Have I told you I love you today?”

Leaning forward, the woman in question stole a brief but tender kiss. “Well, Yes, but only the once.”

“Just the once? Tsk, how careless of me.”

“How indeed.” Nicole fairly purred, expecting the profession, but caught her girlfriend stifling a giggle so instead reached over and hauled her up and over to lie atop her, making to tickle for good measure.

“Hey! NO NOOO! Stop! Uncle!” Waverly was notoriously ticklish. She relented almost the second after she’d begun.

The brunette pretended to slap at her, “No fair” then relaxed as strong arms came up around her, squeezing tight. 

“Love you Waves”

The woman in question lay her head down and sighed happily, listening, her girlfriend’s heart beating out its steady rhythm below her ear.

“I love you too. SO much.”

They were so snug in front of the roaring fire and were quiet for so long after that, Nicole was starting to suspect her girlfriend was drifting off, when she suddenly spoke again, voice low in the cosy hush of the Homestead. 

“You not gonna ask me when I knew?”

Nicole chuckled and parroted back in the now expected fashion. “Waverly Earp, when did you know you were in love with me?” It didn’t make a difference to her when Waverly knew. Not really. All she cared about was that she did and would continue to do so for a long long time to come.

Slight but deceptively strong arms slid under a pair of equally strong shoulders and anchored Waverly as she thought.

“Toothpaste.”

Nicole barked out a laugh at that. She couldn’t help herself. 

“Toothpaste? Toothpaste is hardly an accurate measure of time young missy. C’mon, Earpiest Earp, fess up. You started this. You better give me more than that…”

Plump lips grinned into the flannel shirt she was resting on. “SO demanding. But alright, if you insist. Cinnamon toothpaste.”

“I’ll take ‘Answers that are exactly NO help whatsoever” for $2,000, thank you Alex’.”

Waverly loved this. The simple things. Being silly together. Playing guessing games and talking about love. She drew her arms out from under her girlfriend and propping her chin up on them so she could gaze at the woman who held her heart. “You use cinnamon toothpaste, do you not?”

“Yep” The p on the end of Yep popped delightfully falling from Nicole’s lips.

“And I do not use cinnamon toothpaste, correct?”

Nicole rolled her eyes, but agreed with a single nod.

“Well, there ya go!” And with a beaming smile, Waverly plopped her cheek back down and squeezed both arms back under her lover’s body until she was gripping both shoulders in a firm, snuggly hug.

The redhead let her mouth fall open then shook her head ruefully, playfully slapping her lover on the ass with a muttered, “Goof!”

The heat from the fire combined with the lithe body atop her was making her drowsy and she couldn’t find the will after that to pry further.

But then she didn’t have to as her Waverly finally relented, head titled over, almost speaking into her cleavage, breath warming her chest even further.

“Remember, you came over to give me all that paperwork. For the DNA tests and everything, then we…” She certainly didn’t need to finish that sentence. Their first time making love was seared into both their memories. 

Memories they got lost in for a few moments, then Waverly continued.

“It was perfect. You were PERFECT Nicole. Nobody ever touched me like you do. Took the time and the care like you do. Made me feel like you do. You were everything I never knew I wanted and so much more. The morning after, when I got up and went in the bathroom, half asleep, there was this tube of cinnamon toothpaste sitting on the sink. Because OF COURSE you always carry a spare toothbrush and toothpaste with you. That’s just who you are. Always prepared. Always considerate. Deliberate. Thoughtful. I picked it up and when I held it in my hand my heart just burst with this amazing feeling of absolute joy. That I’d found you. That you’d found me. That we’d found each other, in a world full of billions. That we were together. I knew right then at that very moment that I loved you baby. I nearly ran downstairs and flung open the door, shouted it to the world. Instead, I ran back into the bedroom and there you were, gorgeous, still asleep, drooling slightly on the pillow. Mine.”

When warm hands moved to gently lift her head and cup her cheeks, she went willingly as Nicole moved and sat them both up, Waverly on her lap.

Mahogany eyes searched hazel for long, meaningful moments.

Then Nicole moved so her lips were next to a shapely ear. Her voice was low, rough and heavy with emotion.

“Waverly Earp. I WON’T promise to love you until I draw my last breath...”

Waverly’s own breath caught in her chest. Then the next whispered words released it blessedly out into the warmth of the room around them.

“Because I’m gonna love you far far longer than that. FAR FAR longer….”

The two lovers kissed.

The fire crackled and popped beside them.

And the icy winds whipped on, far past the Homestead and into the cold, dark night far beyond.


End file.
